#the Shopping List | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dduane · 9 months

Text

The Novel as Cake

I was reading through the 'writing' tag on your blog, and came across your wonderful post about how you outline your novels using Cherryh's 'Shopping List' technique. My question is - how do you decide/come up with the 10 things in the novel? I have about 3-4 things I know must happen in my idea, and other random details about the world. But what is important enough to be one of the 10 things? And also, how do you generate your ideas for those 10 things? - Asked by Anonymous

…Okay, let’s take this from the top. (And for convenience’s sake, let’s stay in the shopping-list idiom; it’s useful enough.) (ETA: the blog entry that discusses the Shopping List outlining method is here.)

Let’s say you want to make a cake. …This cake also being your novel.

To have a solid story (in the western-novel tradition, anyway), you need at least two things: plot and theme. The plot is what happens. The theme is the why of what happens, and (to a certain extent) the book-wide spectrum of thought and emotion that underlies that; the answer to the question “But what’s the book about?”* …Think of this duality, for the moment, as the equivalent of having both liquid and solid stuff in your cake. You’ve got to have both or it won’t rise. A book with a plot but no theme has no soul.

So: you’re going to make a cake. What kind?

As an example, I’m going to ease myself out onto a limb here and equate “chocolate-chip devil’s food with chocolate buttercream frosting” with “epic-fantasy quest fiction with strong political, exoreligious, and quasiromantic components.” (A favorite for me, over time, as some folks will have noticed. I just can’t get enough of those chocolate chips…)

So how do you determine the ten things you need (or whatever number you like, but ten works for me) as major ingredients / sections?

Well, ideally from some familiarity with what has gone in other/similar cakes/works of fiction in the past: because (in genre fiction, anyway) you have at least some reader expectations to manage. If you haven’t been reading in your chosen genre, you really should be. ...Now, this doesn’t mean you have to do what other people working in the genre have done. Indeed, at all times you remain at liberty to “flip the punchcard” and do exactly the opposite of what everybody else has been doing, if that’s what suits you. But they’ve set out possible recipes for you, so (as a beginner at this work) it'd seem wise to examine those recipes and see what’s in them that might be useful for you. Once you’ve been doing this for a while, you don’t need to go looking, just as an experienced baker doesn’t need to run for the recipe book every time they want to make a cake.

Naturally you can substitute ingredients, add some or lose some, when you’re creating something new; just as you like—while always making sure you don’t throw away anything routinely required/expected in your genre. (Such as, for example, the Happily Ever After at the end of a genre romance.) But certain basics must be in place, things that make what you’re creating recognizably A Cake, as well as your own additions and embellishments.

In this case, that could be:

For a cake: flour, milk, eggs, butter, baking powder, cocoa, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, seasonings, a little bit of salt (because without that, even the sweetest cake tastes just a little insipid somehow)

For a novel: a protagonist/pairtagonist (is that a word? It is now…); an antagonist (not necessarily a character: an antagonistic or stymie-ing situation that keeps the antagonist from easily getting what they want/need will do just as well. This is where at least some of the interior drama will derive from); a change in interior or exterior conditions that sets events in motion; a “ticking clock” or similar construct that means the desired result must be achieved within a certain time or before certain conditions change or expire; various reversals or hiccups in the flow of the story that will inject a sense of realism (because when does anything ever go perfectly smoothly…?); a crisis point at which everything assembled against the protagonist rises up to be dealt with, and the protagonist rises up to meet the challenge and deal with it; and finally, a set of resolution events that (even if it doesn’t absolutely finish the story proper) brings about an end state that will leave you, and any theoretical reader, satisfied with the completion of the current story arc.

…Needless to say, this is an incredibly oversimplified take on the kind of strategizing needed when you’re creating the recipe for a novel that won’t simply collapse the minute you take it out of the oven. But starting simply is often best. The more you do this kind of work, the easier it gets.

Now: “How do you generate your ideas for those 10 things?”

There are a lot of possible answers to this, but the simplest is: Make them up out of nothing, as usual. :)

…This isn’t meant to sound like sass. You made up those first three or four things you came up with out of nothing, and now (because they’ve been there for a while, probably) they may well have started to acquire a kind of secret, temporally-based superiority in your mind—starting to feel somehow more valid than what needs to come next to fill in the gaps. This kind of creeping sense of validity-via-temporal-primacy is a commonplace when you’re in mid-process, and I invite you to ignore it.

Just insert those three or four things into your shopping list in (roughly) story-temporal order, and then spend some time thinking about what kinds of events could usefully come between / flow from them. Hints:

Events that could realistically have been caused by the ones you’ve got already, and could also realistically be seen as causal to later ones you’ve already established, are always useful. Ideally, you’re trying to establish a chain of events in which none of them look accidental, or coincidental (because readers are rightfully sensitive to plots that only work because all the characters are idiots, or keep having “lucky accidents”). What you’re working toward is an event flow that seems, when viewed in completion, inevitable: as if it couldn’t have happened any other way. You will almost certainly not achieve this easily, early on in your novel work, and maybe not at all. But it strikes me as a good thing to be striving for.

Events that badly screw things up for the main characters are also always useful. Heroes do not become heroes by having everything go their way. Their heroism is achieved and manifested by having things go to shit around them again and again and AGAIN, and nonetheless still finding their way through all that shit to do what needs to be done. The lines attributed to the Confucianist philosopher Meng-tse (sometimes translated from Japanese into English as “Mōshi”) are a touchstone in this regard:

When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering and his sinews and bones with toil: it exposes him to poverty and confounds all his undertakings. Then it is seen if he is ready.

So put your protagonists through the wringer. This is the greatest service you can do them: showing who they are by showing what they're made of.

A variant on this theme: Spend a little time thinking, “What is the absolute worst thing that could happen to these characters in this story / in this world?” And when you’ve figured that out, stick it into one of those gaps as a Main Thing—ideally one between the story’s midpoint and its already-planned crisis, if you’ve got that in place—and then start thinking about how to best exploit it to show how terrific your characters can become if you kick them around a bit. (Addendum: you are allowed to have one Absolutely Terrific and Beautiful Thing happen to assist your characters in recovering from this awfulness. Because they deserve it; but also, all invented worlds [if you ask me] should have beautiful things in them—things to long for, things that make your reader wish they could live there. And that you find beautiful, and worth returning to. You are absolutely allowed to keep yourself entertained, and emotionally refreshed, while you’re creating.)

…Anyway, take your time about getting those gaps filled in. It may take a little while: laying down basic story structure is worth not rushing, if you can avoid it. Once you’ve got everything major in place, the secondary lists will follow more easily.

HTH!

*This is a hilarious oversimplification, but my job at the moment is not (as the saying goes) to explain the workings of the entire universe while standing on one foot. :)

#writing #outlining #the Shopping List #how-to #suggestions #writing process #themes

264 notes · View notes

thecuddlymuffintop · 1 month

Text

Tonight, at 7 pm CDT, I will be streaming 2 short horror games from @superraregames 's Mixtape Horror Edition: The Shopping List by Jordi Boi & Portaboy+ by @lumpytouch, B-Knox, & Enchae.

You're always welcome to join when I'm live with the above link.

3 notes · View notes

talllankyguy · 1 month

Text

youtube

#talllankyguy #gaming #tall lanky guy #let's play #youtube #reactions #playthrough #game #horror games #indie horror #the shopping list

0 notes

grinds-n-games · 6 months

Text

Spooky Short Stories - The Shopping List

This week's spooky game is The Shopping List. Ever feel like someone is following you while you are walking home from shopping? Do you see something in your peripherals but nothing is there? That's this game. It's kinda spooky #Blog #TheShoppingList

View On WordPress

#Blog #horror #Indie #Review #Spooky Short Stories #The Shopping List #Video games

0 notes

vpshot-halos · 10 months

Text

youtube

#community #john wolfe #the shopping list

0 notes

s0fter-sin · 8 months

Text

everyone makes fun of soap when they find out how many hair and skin products he keeps on hand. the cabinet in his bathroom is filled to bursting and he always keeps travel sized bottles on him on missions

when soldiers outside the 141 find out, they call him precious and self-obsessed, a vain pretty boy too preoccupied with his reflection to focus on the enemy. no wonder how he got his callsign. price has given up telling him to leave them on base and just teaches him to individually wrap them so they don’t rattle against each other and give himself away

what they don’t know is that each product contains an ingredient that when mixed with any number of the others, creates potent chemical bombs. he was caught unarmed once, he won’t let it happen again

#ghost picks it up when he watches him meticulously read the ingredients lists on the bottles when he goes shopping with him once #he knows enough about products to know that when you find one that works you keep using it #so hes confused when he sees soap put back a moisturiser hes certain hes seen in his little bag #he waits for him to leave the aisle and checks the bottle #which is when he sees the new and improved formula sticker on the back #he memorises the ingredients and when he checks the bottle in soaps room sure enough theres an ingredient missing #thats when he puts it together #it seems his little intro into guerrilla warfare had sparked some ideas in his sergeant #and hes so damn proud it takes him off guard for a second #he hadnt expected him to keep up with it not when hed rarely need the knowledge #but he is and hes doing it all on his own using his own expertise and forethought #the pride has to make room for a difference kind of warmth at the sheer competency on display in front of him #the next day he drops a new product with the missing ingredient on soaps head #the soldiers around them are shocked that hed indulge in soaps prissiness #hes the only that that sees the feral glint in soaps eye as he thanks him and starts going on about the benefits of looking after your skin #coming out of my cage and ive been doing just fine.txt #ghost x soap #soapghost #ghostsoap #ghost mw2 #cod ghost #cod soap #soap mw2 #soap mactavish #cod mwii #call of duty #we’re a team. ghost team

5K notes · View notes

not-another-robin · 1 year

Text

I'm the bravest boy in the world for using this doodle for an in-class project

#for printmaking class!#ill post how they turn out #maybe ill sell/ give away some of the prints for 3k followers #narsposting #dc comics #batman #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #batfam #batfamily #ough on the list of things for the shop ill never make...... stickers of this.......

4K notes · View notes

tianaberrie · 30 days

Text

best maxis match hairs || the sims 4

descarga los mejores cabellos maxis match que considero que deberían de tener en los sims 4, en este cc haul.

· ver video + cc links

726 notes · View notes

pinkfey · 8 months

Text

wyll is the kinda guy to have a very high-spirited, mentally healthy workout routine and well-meaningly encourage others to do it too. like he’d definitely tell gale hey i noticed you’ve been down as you contemplate life death and your mortality.. have you tried jogging?? we can get up just before sunrise, take a hike together,, it’d be fun 🥰 and gale’s like i’d literally rather die

#like wyll is the opposite of a toxic gym bro #he and karlach do crunches together and gossip. they arm wrestle and sometimes she lets him win.#he asks people to sit on his back while he does push ups and creates a little shopping list in his head #just a solid heartthrob i love him soooooooo much #anyways.txt #bg3 posting

2K notes · View notes

me-writes-prompts · 22 days

Text

:-“I was just getting my coffee, but then I fell in love with you” Coffee shop love prompts-:

By @me-writes-prompts

Going to order their usual order, but the other one puts their hand up and says, “Usual, right? I got it.”

Smiling and blushing even before they enter the coffee shop, because they were dying to see them again after seeing them for the first time yesterday.

“Hey! Can I have iced tea?” “Hmmm, I know you love tea. But, today, can I get you a coffee that I think you might like?” “Oh, yes!”

Accidentally spilling their coffee on the other on their way out

Ordering the same thing at the same time and then awkwardly laughing

^^”Guess I’m not the only one who likes my black coffee with a touch of vanilla syrup, huh?” “Yeah, weird but good.” “Agreed.”

Locking eyes across the room while they are both sipping their drinks

Having to sit at the same table because there is nowhere else to sit(there was only one table :)

Getting so used to meeting each other everyday for morning coffee that they miss them when they are not there.

^^"Where were you yesterday?" "Oh, I wasn't feeling well. A little under the weather, haha." "Yeah, it was quite cold yesterday. Are you doing better now?" "Yeah, yeah. Thanks for asking." "I…I missed you." "Oh."

548 notes · View notes

nipuni · 9 months

Text

Edwardian outfit complete! 🥰 I'm so happy with this look!!

Skirt and waistcoat: GibsonGirlDress (etsy) / Blouse: Lace Garden / Corset: Lucy's corsetry / Boots: American Duchess / Accesories: Aliexpress

#Nips photos #personal #historical fashion #edwardian #I made a little GRWM sort of video too 😊 I'll share it later #I can't wait to wear this out when the weather gets colder!!#I made a bunch of new outfits too I'll share later and hopefully show some of my husband's too if I can get him to dress up when it's 35ºc #I listed the shops under the cut btw!

2K notes · View notes

appeypie · 4 months

Text

snow day sticker :) !!!

#i meant to list this sticker like a month ago sorry #etsy #shop #undertale #mettaton #mad mew mew #napstablook

593 notes · View notes

celesse · 9 months

Text

They're finally here! Vintage sack canvas totes are now in the shop 🛍️💖

Made of sturdy canvas with a large size, full side and bottom gussets and reinforced seams, these make for excellent shopping bags and help reduce plastic usage!

Available here: https://www.sugarbunnyshop.com/collections/bags

#bags #tote bags #canvas tote bags #shopping totes #vintage logos #vintage sacks #merch #merchandise #shop #shopping #shopping list #cottagecore #farmcore

1K notes · View notes

blacksailsgf · 10 months

Text

take my quiz & let me recommend you a new Hobby™ :)

#uquiz my beloved !!#bea.pdf #this is a silly quiz don't take it too seriously lol if u like the rec then great! if not then simply shop for hobbies in the results list

1K notes · View notes

obsob · 2 years

Photo